The oldest ones we see here are the early Airfix kits that have been re-boxed. I have seen the Stirling on the shelves and that dates from 66.

Do you mean oldest kit still being manufactured ( but possibly under a new name )

Or.... oldest kit still sitting on the store shelf  for the past 40 years..... and still has a $1.99 price tag on it?

Picked up the Mono 1/48 Mosquito awhile back, stamped 1966 on a horizontal stab.  Could be built as a F/B, Bomber or night fighter.  Molded in gray, black, and clear.  Suprisingly has recessed panel lines.  Decent fit and not much flash.

I have unassembled borax 20 mule team that my dad bought in 1965.

armor 2.0

I have unassembled borax 20 mule team that my dad bought in 1965.

 

You're going to get real tired of looking the south end of northbound mules by the time you get done with that one.

goldhammer

 

 

armor 2.0

I have unassembled borax 20 mule team that my dad bought in 1965.

 

 

 

 

You're going to get real tired of looking the south end of northbound mules by the time you get done with that one.

 

I'm not sure if you are referring to the molds or the actual boxing. That Revell BB-39 kit goes back to 1961 and every Michaels I've ever been in still seems to sell it.

The Revell 1/535 Missouri goes all the way back to 1953, I'm sure there's still some new box originals around.

Personally, not counting some really old wood ship model kits, and a lot of old railroad stuff, I have some Airfix aircraft kits in plastic bags with cardboard stapled tops.

That Revell Missouri I believe is their oldest kit (1953) and it's still in their catalogue.

Bish

The oldest ones we see here are the early Airfix kits that have been re-boxed. I have seen the Stirling on the shelves and that dates from 66.

Now superseded by the recent new-tool kit, Airfix's old Beaufighter was from somewhere around 1957/8. I wouldn't be too surprised if there's a few of these still lurking on a dusty shelf in a hobby shop somewhere.

Phil_H

 

 

Bish

The oldest ones we see here are the early Airfix kits that have been re-boxed. I have seen the Stirling on the shelves and that dates from 66.

 

 

Now superseded by the recent new-tool kit, Airfix's old Beaufighter was from somewhere around 1957/8. I wouldn't be too surprised if there's a few of these still lurking on a dusty shelf in a hobby shop somewhere.

 

DXidn't know about that one so just checked and it was last realeased in 2008, so there will certainly be some of those out there some where.

I remember building the old Eagle Wall & Pyro Table Top Navy ships and sailing ships that had been manufactured in the 1950's and have been remarketed by Lindberg. I bought the Lindberg releases and built them all just as an exercise in nostalgia, building them all in one weekend.

Bill

Hi Don ;

 I have found an old re-release of the 1/72 Spitfire Mk 11 . It's the only Brit plane I didn't have that is a fighter . T.B.

Hi Bill ;

 Yeah , I believe that is dead on . I just wish REVELL of Germany would get ahold of it , Correct it and then I might buy one ! Happy Holidays to you and your Family . T.B.

Hi;

 I would say Revell's Missouri and some of the Airfix Bagged kits . Happy Holidays ! T.B.

Well, it's not the '50s of course but as far as I know AMT/Ertil's Enterprise kit with some changes has been in production pretty much constantly since it was introduced in '67 or so when Star Trek was still it's original run. 

Revell "History Makers" M48a0  AVLB   I Built this in 20111

The box strapline of "A classic kit from over 5 decades of modelling history" means © 1959, with 1982 & 2009 releases, of which this build is an example.

littletimmy

Do you mean oldest kit still being manufactured ( but possibly under a new name )

Or.... oldest kit still sitting on the store shelf  for the past 40 years..... and still has a $1.99 price tag on it?

 

I meant oldest kit still manufactured, but I guess if you build an old one sitting on a shelf for that long, you'd still appreciate the changes in today's kits.

Retired In Kalifornia

 

I'd really be interested to know which injected styrene plastic models have been in continuous production the longest, info on that hopefully is somewhere on the Web, wouln't be surprised if they're AMT autos.

 

If I remember right, plastic car kits came along about a year or two after the airplanes.  I remember my first car builds were a Jag 120 and a Ferrari (forget the type). I don't think either are still in production.  I think the AMTs were later than that, so I'd still guess those Hawk/Lindberg 1:48 racing planes are the winners, though the early AMT kits may be the earliest car kits still in production.  Sure appreciate Round 2 repopping all those old car kits.

GMorrison

That Revell Missouri I believe is their oldest kit (1953) and it's still in their catalogue.

 

 

Boy, that is about the same time as those racing planes- it may be a tie!  I didn't get into plastic ships for several years, though I still was building wood ship models in '54 or '55.

The first plastic kits I remember were antique cars made by Revell, the series was called "Highway Pioneers."  The models were of oldies such as Stanley Steamer, Ford Model T, that kind of thing.  I think these came out in the mid-50's.

The Testors R3C dates back to 1946.  Looks like it was originally issued with wheels and the floats added later.  The Lindberg Stearman and Gato sub kits are both derived from Varney kits, which also date from 1946 but the parts were altered for styrene injection. 

GreenStyrene48

The Testors R3C dates back to 1946.  Looks like it was originally issued with wheels and the floats added later.  The Lindberg Stearman and Gato sub kits are both derived from Varney kits, which also date from 1946 but the parts were altered for styrene injection. 

 

Wow, I built that one too.  Didn't realize how old that kit was.  I guess my hobby shop didn't carry plastic models until a bit later!

Retired In Kalifornia

 Gamera

Well, it's not the '50s of course but as far as I know AMT/Ertil's Enterprise kit with some changes has been in production pretty much constantly since it was introduced in '67 or so when Star Trek was still it's original run. 

 

 Original 1966 AMT Star Trek Model Kits Review by TrekWorks

Yep, Built Them As Well, Liked The Klingon Cruiser Better

 

Don Stauffer

 

littletimmy

Do you mean oldest kit still being manufactured ( but possibly under a new name )

Or.... oldest kit still sitting on the store shelf  for the past 40 years..... and still has a $1.99 price tag on it?

 

I meant oldest kit still manufactured, but I guess if you build an old one sitting on a shelf for that long, you'd still appreciate the changes in today's kits.

Interesting about the Midway. $ 29.99 on the museum store site.

Think I paid about $ 50.00 for the 1995 boxing.

All forsomething that cost $ 2.49 new.

Revell's 1/232 USS Olympia was kitted in 1959. Squadron reissued this kit in 2012 under their Encore line with two levels of aftermarket add on bits. Not currently listed by Squadron but I'm sure there are a few still out there and many more hunkered down in stashes waiting to be built (I've got one).

Lindberg's 1/240 Olympia is of similar age and is currently in listed in Round 2's current catalog. 

Lindberg's 1/48 PT-17 "Stearman" dates back to a 1946 kit from a company I've never even heard of, Varney. Not sure if it is currently on the shelves but it has been re-issued within the last 5-10 years.

Oldest kit I've built is an Airfix RE-8 which they first released in 1958 (mine was a later re-issue). The kit left something to be desired, but I've built worse kits that were much younger.

Actually not true, I built that Revell Monogram USS Missouri when I was a kid, probably around 1978-79. So the RE-8 is the second oldest kit I've built by a couple of years.

I've built quite a few Monogram kits from the 1960s. Most of them still hold up pretty well today, they really had their act together at Monogram. 

Retired In Kalifornia

 Can you tell what scale? Number of offerings going back to Hawk's F4D-1 "Triangle Box" kit c.1956, if its this y'all have a rare collector's item:

 

This boxed version do remember seeing in stores, read there's a "hard box" version released c.1959, "soft box" c.1960 onwards:

 

I've built very few Navy never mind any Marine aircraft; the Skyray is one of those "mystery" aircraft been fascinated over decades about but not taken the time to read up on, yet another research effort I should be conducting.

 

      I lean toward the Hawk  'cause the box looks familiar. However, My F4D has an engine and you can open a "hatch" and see the engine as I recall.  I will be "reviewing" my attic collection again in the near future. I might have a gold mine up there.

    The 1st kit I remember building by myself was the old Lindberg 1/900 Missouri. I still have 1 turret from it.  I painted it poorly.  My dad used Gasoline to remove the paint and that melted the Plastic. I kinda switched to tanks after that.  In my browsing the attic I located my JSIII , M26 and German Panther, all by Aurora I think.  When did Aurora release those?  I also saw my Tiger II up there. I thought No one had a kit of the King Tiger. ( This was back in the 60's). I think this was also an Aurora kit and I was really surprised to see it in Peoples Drug Store.  I bought it right away but was 2 cents short because of tax.  The lady in line ahead of me gave me the money.  Great Times .

      Nino

I wonder how many people buy the CV-41 kit at the museum, only to disciover it very little resembles the ship as it is today.

Another older kit is the 1957 Revell USCGC Eastwind. Re-released by Revell of Germany in 2009 as the USCGC Burton Island. It's still available.

The USCGC Campbell was also released at about the same time, later re-released as the USCGC Roger Taney, but I don't think it has been for sale new for a while.

Here's a nice exchange from the archive about those ships.

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/7/t/118561.aspx

Retired In Kalifornia

 

Varney Scale Models (1936-1960) founded by Gordon Varney in Chicago, IL was an early HO Scale railroad train model manufacturer noted for above average detail & quality.

 

Varney also produced scale auto models some "pantographed" from National Products pot metal promotional models notably the 1949 Ford F-1 Pickup, Panel & Stake Trucks & 1953 Customline Fordor Sedan in 1954, memories of latter my possibly having "owned" & played with in the mid-1950s.

According to CollectAir.org, Varney's 1/48th yellow cellulose acetate PT-17 Kaydet in 1946 is credited, but not entirely undisputed, as having been the first "all-plastic" scale model on the U.S. market well as the first advertised in model magazines, a full page ad appearing in the May 1946 edition of Air Trails.

The CollectAir image below shows what appears to be a modern PT-17 reproduction of the Varney kit. I'd question the literature as having been produced before 1950, maybe later 1950s:

 

I'm sure Revell's much more recent PT-17 would be preferable, but kind of neat that one of the very first kits made is still out there on the shelves.

I build 1/72 so haven't personally looked at the Varney / Lindberg kit, but it gets decent reviews from those who have. They must have done something right for the kit to still be worth a look 71 years later.